Study on Regeneration Ability of Saccharum sp Clones for Optimizing Cryopreservation Techniques and Identification of Suitable Explant for Long-Term Storage

Cryopreservation is an alternate approach for the long-term preservation of vegetatively propagated crops like sugarcane. This technique is used to preserve plant cells in vitro, enabling long-term storage of plant materials without alteration or modification of their natural state. The goal of this study was to develop a simple and efficient cryopreservation method for the long-term storage of Saccharum species. The cryopreservation techniques were optimized for three distinct explants of Saccharum species, which include the apical meristem, meristem-derived axillary buds, and dormant nodal buds. Various low-temperature cryopreservation strategies were used in this study, viz., two-step freezing, desiccation followed by direct immersion, vitrification, and encapsulation. The regeneration of material after cryogenic treatment at different time intervals exhibited germination in meristem-derived axillary buds and dormant nodal buds. Meristem culture was undertaken to obtain disease-free meristem-derived shoots for cryopreservation. Under encapsulation followed by dehydration, meristem-derived axillary buds of IND 19–2045 and Co 86032 regenerated after cryo treatments at various time intervals from 15 min to 70 h. The genetic fidelity of Co 86032 was confirmed using SRAP markers. Dormant nodal buds of four clones, namely IND 03–1310, IND 03–1294, IND 03–1295, and IND 03–1296, responded well after cryo treatments at different time intervals ranging from 15 min to 70 h under the desiccation–direct immersion method and the encapsulation–dehydration method.